Showing posts with label thesis and dissertation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thesis and dissertation. Show all posts


You have to submit your thesis or dissertation to get your degree and make your parents and yourself proud, but wait! Are you mind-boggled since you don’t know exactly what to write as you don’t know the difference between thesis and dissertation.

Thesis and dissertation most often are mistaken to be the same thing. In some universities, these are talked about interchangeably. However, it is important to note that these two terms differ significantly from each other.

Usually students spend hours searching for material in libraries and other sources to help them differentiate a thesis from a dissertation but end-up with insufficient and confusing information.
Here are 10 most significant differences between a thesis and a dissertation

1. In writing thesis, you have to conduct your own original research. A dissertation entails that you have to synthesize the collected information and include your thoughts to it.

2. A thesis allows you to get a higher degree, whereas dissertation is more likely to be smaller part of first degree.

3. In writing thesis, you have to put forward a hypothesis that has to be original implying the authenticity and originality of your work. Dissertation on the other hand requires knowledge of the recent discoveries allowing you to draw conclusion by analyzing the collected data.

4. Dissertation is lengthier thus takes more time to be completed than thesis. Thesis comparatively requires less time.

5. In thesis, you have to work on the main point that you are presenting where as in dissertation, you focus on the work that has already been done by analyzing it critically and then adding your own input into it.

6. Thesis is more like a research paper and dissertation is more of a research book presenting your novel findings to existing literature.

7. In USA, thesis is needed for either diploma, undergraduate or masters degree whereas dissertation is required to be written at PhD level. It is vice versa in UK.

8. Data collection in thesis and dissertation differs. Data for thesis is collected by keeping the hypothesis in mind whereas in dissertation it is comprised of theory and argumentation based on original work.

9. Students conclude their thesis by defining their viewpoint based on research work done while in dissertation they conclude by presenting their major findings.

10. In thesis, you have an objective or a point to prove failing which you fail your thesis. In dissertation, you have to focus on everything and if you are unable to prove, you have to accept or defend the limitations of your research proposal.

The 10 Points listed above gives you a clear picture of the difference between thesis and dissertation however in countries where dissertation is the basic requirement to earn Master’s degree and thesis to earn doctorate, some of these points need to be reversed.

Submit your thesis and dissertations get your degree and hear your friend clapping, teachers praising, parents praying and you feeling out of this world with your degree in your hand.

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Writing a thesis dissertation can be sometime very difficult and painstaking as it involve immense amount of research work to come up with a good piece of writing. Many people still believe that writing a dissertation is as simple as writing an essay or term paper which includes a simple introduction, body and conclusion; rather it is something more than that. To differentiate among them I have decided to highlight the format for writing thesis and dissertation.

Abstract:

Abstract is usually not more than 300 to 400 words which are not included in the formal word count, an abstract is a short summary of the points that will be elaborated in the dissertation, and half of the abstract should tell what a reader should expect in the thesis dissertation while the rest of it should outline some future recommendations.

Introduction:

An introduction should constitute only ten percent of the dissertation, as the name implies, it should be introducing the topic while also highlighting the areas that will be discussed in the coming thesis and dissertation.

Literature review:

Literature review generally constitutes twenty percent of the thesis dissertation where you would be introducing at least ten references and two to three theories while also incorporating the research questions as well.

Methodology:

Constituting twenty percent of your thesis dissertation, you would be discussing the research program keeping in mind the research questions that was highlighted in the literature review.

Discussion:

The discussion chapter would be divided into two segments, first; the analysis of the research work and the final discussion that would be comprising of the thirty percent of your whole thesis dissertation.

Conclusion:

This chapter would also be divided into segments, first; the final conclusion and second; the recommendations for the future research work. You have to make sure you have addressed all the questions that were raised in the preceding thesis and dissertation.

References:

This would not be included in the formal word count, quoting the resources in the bibliography section can save you from falling your work under the heading of plagiarism and this is also a moral duty to properly acknowledge the work of the other authors and researchers.

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